This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
loess
[ loh-es, les, luhs ]
/ ˈloʊ ɛs, lɛs, lʌs /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a loamy deposit formed by wind, usually yellowish and calcareous, common in the Mississippi Valley and in Europe and Asia.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of loess
1825–35; <German Löss<Swiss German lösch loose, slack (sch taken as a dial. equivalent of German s), akin to German loseloose
OTHER WORDS FROM loess
lo·ess·i·al, lo·ess·al, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use loess in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for loess
loess
/ (ˈləʊɪs, German lœs) /
noun
a light-coloured fine-grained accumulation of clay and silt particles that have been deposited by the wind
Derived forms of loess
loessial (ləʊˈɛsɪəl) or loessal, adjectiveWord Origin for loess
C19: from German Löss, from Swiss German dialect lösch loose
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for loess
loess
[ lō′əs, lĕs, lŭs ]
A very fine grained silt or clay, thought to have formed as the result of grinding by glaciers and to have been deposited by the wind. Most loess is believed to have originated during the Pleistocene Epoch from areas of land covered by glaciers and from desert surfaces.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.